NetEnt: which of the old classics still deserve a spin

Twenty-odd years in one paragraph

NetEnt, short for Net Entertainment, started in Sweden in 1996 and became the studio that defined how online slots looked and felt through the 2010s. It bought Red Tiger in 2019 and was itself bought by Evolution, the live-casino company, in a deal completed at the end of 2020. The name carries on, and so do the games; releases now come alongside those of Big Time Gaming and Nolimit City inside the same group.

The veterans, judged honestly

Why Starburst refuses to die

Starburst has been on the front page of lobbies for well over a decade because it does one thing perfectly: it pays something often enough to keep a small balance alive. Expanding wilds trigger respins, lines pay left to right and right to left, and the published return is about 96.1%. The price is the ceiling. If your plan is to turn €20 into an evening, it is one of the best tools going; if your plan is a life-changing win, it is the wrong game. The Starburst page has the numbers.

Mega Fortune and the jackpot record

NetEnt ran some of the first big networked progressive jackpots. Mega Fortune paid a record of about €17.8 million in January 2013, and Hall of Gods and Divine Fortune followed. The catch with any progressive is that part of every stake feeds the pot, so the return you can expect outside the jackpot is lower than the headline. Our jackpot slots guide explains who really pays for the prize.

The inventions you now see everywhere

• Avalanche reels (Gonzo's Quest): winning symbols explode and new ones fall, with a multiplier rising on each consecutive win. Every tumbling grid today, including Gates of Olympus, owes something to it.
• Both-ways paylines (Starburst): lines pay from either end.
• Sticky-wild free spins (Dead or Alive): the forerunner of today's high-volatility westerns, Wanted Dead or a Wild included.

A calmer way to use the back catalogue

For many Irish players NetEnt's older games work best as the second half of an evening. After a session on something volatile, switching to a steady game at a lower stake stretches what is left of a budget and makes it easier to stop at the point you planned. Starburst and Twin Spin suit that role well, because their small, frequent wins keep the balance moving without big swings. Blood Suckers, with its unusually high published return, is another option for anyone who cares more about the percentage than the thrill. None of this changes the house edge, but choosing a gentler game for the last part of a night is one of the few decisions that genuinely shapes how the evening ends.

Megaways versions and remakes

Several NetEnt classics have been rebuilt with the Megaways engine licensed from Big Time Gaming, and some with extreme 'XXXtreme' or sequel versions. A remake usually keeps the theme and changes the maths: higher volatility, a bigger top prize, and a feel that has little in common with the original. Try the demo of both before assuming you know the new one.

The honest verdict

Play NetEnt's old games for what they were built to do: steady, readable sessions with features you can follow. For more modern maths, Pragmatic Play and Play'n GO are on neighbouring pages, and the full list is on game providers.

Casinos for classic low-volatility slots

No promise here about which studios each lobby carries this week. These are the five casinos we cover and where calm, classic-style slots are easiest to find.